Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907.
By The Sundial of Armoy (1847) (Selected Lyrics). I. The Paradise of HeavenRichard Mant (17761848)
“N
So speak the dial’s accents clear:
So better speaks the prophet’s warning
To ears that hear.
The sun goes down, the shadow spreads;
O come the day which, never ending,
No night succeeds!
Unwonted light; nor moon nor sun;
But Light itself, with glory streaming,
God on His throne.
And there the tree of comfort grows,
Which whoso tastes, all sense of sadness,
All care, forgoes.
O stream of pleasure, ever new;
O day of light, God’s light revealing,
Essential, true:—
God’s saints, that promised seat prepare;
Nor impious aught, nor aught unholy
Finds entrance there:
Of reckless sloth its pow’rs enchain;
Or worldly lusts its course encumber,
Or thoughts profane.